英语作文小学四年级通用3篇 小学英语作文（经典20篇）

农村的一年四季，对我们孩子来说都能找到欢乐。 The year and four seasons in the countryside can find joy for our children.

春天，万物复苏，百花盛开，姹紫嫣红。每当这时，我们一群小伙伴都聚到一起，去大山采草药，也会摘些山花，做成花环，戴在头上，象获得奥运金牌的运动员们一样骄傲，都神采飞扬，哈哈大笑着。

夏天，我们小伙伴会拿着面筋和一根长长的竹竿，来到树林中捉知了。小伙伴们个个"技术高超"，不一会一只只知了尽收囊中。我的年龄最小，没他们那样的本领，竹竿还没碰到知了，它便"吱_"的一声飞跑了。到最后数我捉的最少，虽然我对小伙伴们羡慕的咋舌，可还是很高兴的。我提着我捉的了了几只知了，一路小跑回奶奶家，急着让奶奶给我炸了吃，奶奶笑眯眯地说："真是个小馋虫!"

秋天，我们来到小河边，捡起落叶，许了一个愿，放到水中，让心中的愿望漂向远方。放完后，大家都自豪地说着自己的心愿会漂向何方："我的去北京!"，"我的去日本!"，"我的去美国!"……

冬天，只要一下雪，伙伴们便早早起床，来到空地上，一起伴随着笑声追逐着，打闹着。三个一群堆雪人，五个一伙打雪仗……大家一起真是不亦乐乎。

现在我还经常梦到童年那欢乐的场景，把我笑醒。

一天早上，我在看电视。忽然一道光出现，嫦娥就在我眼前。我请求嫦娥姐姐：“嫦娥姐姐我很喜欢你，你可以带我去你的广寒宫里玩一天吗?求你了!”嫦娥姐姐犹豫了一会儿，她回答：“好啊!”我超级开心。

我和嫦娥姐姐站在白云上，不一会儿，我们就到了广寒宫外。我一走进广寒宫，就看到了玉兔，它在一棵桂花树下昏昏欲睡，嫦娥姐姐说：“小玉兔，要起床了，有客人来咯。”玉兔睁开了它那双像“黑宝石”一样明亮的双眼。

嫦娥抱起那只可爱又漂亮的小玉兔，我眼巴巴地看着那只玉兔。嫦娥姐姐问：“你是不是非常喜欢我这只小玉兔呀?”我连忙点头并回答：“对呀!对呀!”嫦娥姐姐说：“你这么喜欢它，那我就把它送给你吧!”“谢谢，谢谢”我说。嫦娥拿出一些糕点，有饼干，有小蛋糕，有果汁糕和一些小零食，这些东西非常的好吃。

“起床了，起床了。”妈妈叫着，我醒来了，我问妈妈：“妈妈，嫦娥姐姐呢?”妈妈说：“什么嫦娥呀?嫦娥怎么会下凡间呢?你个小笨蛋。”我心里想：“噢!原来这是个梦啊!”

今天是国庆节，大家都喜气洋洋，我走在大街上，看见很久没有热闹起来的大街，简直是排山倒海，显得很威武，风光。

在国庆节里，大家都很快乐，我也显得很兴奋，看见了人们那欢乐的笑脸，在大街上，好像把大街从心灵丛中打开。

在晚上更加快乐，因为在晚上可以看见远方的人，在放朦胧的烟花发出的烟火，远处的烟花都是五颜六色的，像彩虹一样在空中爆发。在朦胧的烟火中，远方的山好像是在梦中一样，隐隐约约，天空中闪烁着明亮的星星和温暖的月亮。

我也加入了这个热闹的夜晚，在灯光的照耀下显得更加快乐，走在大街上，我与这个热闹的夜晚交上了朋友，我沉浸在这迷人的情境之中，我在欢乐的笑声中快乐地手舞足蹈。

紧接着，我又来到了商场，商场里平放着许多的烟花筒，我买了许多烟花筒，我飞快地把它们拿回家，回到家，我迅速拿起打火机，把烟花筒点燃，“轰”的一声，烟花立刻出现在天空中，一下子，烟花就爆发了，出现在天空中蹦来跳去，像个野孩子。

烟花在天空中斑斑点点的色彩与漆黑的天空较上了劲，在天空中变得更加美丽了，好像活在画中似的，此时，又有几个地方也冒出了烟花，天空变得更加美丽了，让天空不再变得漆黑的就是烟花，而是使天空变得更加明亮。

有的烟花喷射在天空上，就形成了一些大字，还有的形成了各种各样的图案，写着国庆节快乐，还有一些有关国庆节的图案，展示在几个大字的周围，啊!多么漂亮。

多么让人快乐的一天啊!国庆节真让人流连忘返!

我叫王潇悦，今年10岁了，我长得白白净净的，一张瓜子脸上镶嵌着一双水汪汪的大眼睛，挺挺的鼻子下是一张红红的小嘴。大家都说我是个气质美女。

我爱哭鼻子，听妈妈说，我刚出生时的几个月里，每到半夜，就会哇哇大哭，无论妈妈怎么哄都不行。大概我爱哭鼻子的毛病就是从那时候落下的。这不，今天老师布置了作文，我冥思苦想了好久，还是不会写，急的呀，眼泪不由自主的流了下来。妈妈问我怎么了，我抽抽噎噎的，半天才说：“我…我…我不会写作文。”妈妈看着我的样子，真是哭笑不得。

我特别爱表演，最爱走模特步。去年暑假，我参加了晋城市少儿模特比赛。比赛时，动感的音乐响起，我就落落大方的上场了，一手叉腰，一手自然地摆动，走到台前，挺胸站立。台下无数双眼睛注视着我，我已经完全融入舞台。我优雅地摆着姿势。当我提起衣裙翩翩起舞时，台下爆发出热烈的掌声。最终，我获得了特等奖，并且代表晋城市参加了晋城的比赛。

怎么样，听了我的介绍，你对我有所了解了吧?咱们交个朋友吧!

My English teacher is Miss Hou, all the students like her so much. I am one of them, Miss Hou is the one I adore, she is so patient and kind to me. When I have question about English, she is pleased to explain the question, even though I still have question, she keeps answer them until I understand. Miss Hou is a great teacher.

我的英语老师是候老师，所有的学生都很喜欢她。我是其中的一员，侯老师是我崇拜的一个人，她很有耐心，对我很友好。当我对英语有问题时，她很乐意去解释，即使我还有问题，她一直在回答，知道我弄懂。侯老师是一位好老师。

老师，你在逗我，今天早操的大课间活动居然是……长绳!听到这个噩耗，我两眼一闭纤腰难立华丽的倒去。

自从上次跳完长绳以后，我的心里就留下了阴影，一直不敢接触长绳，但，这次，没办法了，想逃也逃不了只能硬着头皮上了。我静静地排着队，表面若无其事，其实心里紧张得很呢，看着大家一个一个的跳过，我更紧张了，想：“如果大家都跳过了，就我栽在上面了，那我们队的后腿都要被我给折断了”随着地上绳影的忽浓忽淡，马上就要轮到我了，还有2个，1，到我了，我双脚分开，双手与地面垂直，用心听着绳落地时的“啪啪”响声，心里默默数着“3、2、1”我闭着眼睛，不顾一切，“横冲直撞的”跑过去。咦，怎么没感觉，突然，身后传来了莫荻魔性的笑声，原来，我跑了进去，结果还没跳，从另一边出来了，可自己却什么也不知道，还很傻很天真的以为自己跳了过去，哎，我都要被自己给蠢哭了。

很快，就又轮到我了，我蓄势待发，像离弦之箭般的冲了出去，然后猛的一跳，我的表情也随着身体的运动而变化着，我的眉毛轻轻一挑，双脚又重新回归到平面，我欣喜若狂，庆幸自己终于跳了过去，终于克服了跳长绳恐惧症。

长绳长绳，此乐何极?

今年的这个元旦，同学们过得有些烦闷。可能是因为学校没有举办联欢会吧!而就因为这样，英语老师破天荒抽出20分钟时间让同学们演唱英文歌曲。

同学们闻言立刻炸开了锅，叫好声连续不断。“上次老师安排谁唱歌了?”老师微笑着说。“高伊玲!”同学们不约而同地指着高伊玲喊道。“那好吧，高伊玲你给大家唱一首吧!”老师继续微笑着。高伊玲的脸一下子就红了，赶忙拿着书遮起自己的脸“老师，我还没准备好……”还没等他说完，同学们就集体开始起哄“高伊玲，高伊玲!”高伊玲把自己的脸挡的更严实了。

就在这时，老师拿着板子敲了敲讲台，示意同学们安静下来。“袁一鸣，你声音喊的最大，不如你上来给我们唱一首呗?”同学们顿时就乐了，又开始起哄起袁一鸣来。袁一鸣挠挠头，走上讲台去，说：“我给大家唱一首歌，不怎么好听，大家可别取笑我。”说完便唱：“A——B——C——D……：含糊的口音和不准确的音调从他嗓子里蹦出来，立刻使同学们哄堂大笑。这小子唱的竟然是《字母歌》!同学们笑得直打跌，有的还”咿咿呀呀“的起哄着。老师也笑的眼睛眯成了月牙。曲终，同学们爆发出热烈的掌声。袁一鸣也笑了。这下，同学们又把矛头指向高伊玲，不知谁说：”高伊玲，你也来唱一首!“其他同学纷纷符合：就是就是!高伊玲在大家的”盛情邀请下“站了起来，”我给大家唱《新年好》的英文版。Happy

new year……“刚唱了一句，他便憋着唱不出来了。刚好这时下课铃声起，接了他的燃眉之急。这场闹剧也随着同学们失望的叹息声结束了。

经过这么一闹，这个元旦也愉快了不少，教室里洋溢着快乐的气氛，久久不散。

快乐是一幅七彩斑斓的图画，而成长就是图画里面的色彩。 Happy is a colorful picture, and the growth is the color in the picture.

因为成长，我明白了助人也是一种快乐。放学时，路过马路上的一条陡坡。放眼望去，只见一个弱小的身影在三轮车的前后徘徊着。我连忙走过去，看见的居然是一个白发苍苍的老婆婆。老婆婆车上放满了许多废纸皮。这让我萌生了许多想法。我疑惑地看着老婆婆。

老婆婆心领神会：“我家里穷，所以只能靠这些来维持生计。”顿时，我感到一股心酸的感觉涌上心头。我怜悯地说：“老婆婆，我帮你推上斜坡吧!”“嗯，谢谢你，小伙子。”老婆婆欣喜的应到。我跑到车后，“咿呀”的一声就把车子推上了斜坡。此时，我在老婆婆沧桑的脸上看到了无比真诚的笑容，让我感到很温暖。助人的温暖感觉使我懂得了在快乐中成长。

因为成长，我懂得了父母的爱。我们一出生就是在父母温暖的怀抱中。然而，我们是否真正地体谅过父母的苦心呢?一直年幼无知的我，不曾关心或体谅过父母。直到那一次一个美好星期天就在不体谅中悄悄流逝。一早，我笑哈哈地看着电视。可是，却把啰嗦的爸爸妈妈“唤”来了。他们一开口就是要我去复习，除了复习还是复习。我被他们说得不耐烦，随即大吼一声：“爸妈，你们也未免太烦了吧!

整天唠唠叨叨的，你们能不能给我些自由啊!不要整天在我面前谈学习学习的，我会厌烦的。”一向温柔的爸爸也抵不住我的脾气要发火了。爸爸生气地说道：“有你这样跟爸妈说话的吗?你不知道我们这是为了你好吗?”“呵。”我自嘲一笑，“你们口口声声说为我好，但是，你们有没有考虑过我的感受啊?

”说完，我赌气地跑出家门，在公园的长椅上哭了起来。过了不知多久时间，我感到背上有一双温暖的大手在轻轻拍打着。一下子，我的泪水全部涌了出来，我梗咽地说：“对不起，爸爸妈妈!我我”“好了好了，知道错就好!没关系的。”妈妈说道。从那次后，我懂得得了父母的爱。

成长中，正因为有了不用的调味瓶，才可能会有不一样的人生与精彩。所以说，快乐伴我成长，与我同行。

My father doesnt talk much. Though he is not funny, he loves me very much.

Last week, he travelled for business and when he came home, he took out a box

and brought me a nice present. I was so happy. He always remembered to bring me

some surprises. It was a special notebook and I could use it to write

diaries.

My name is Yang Yang, I am thirteen years old. I am a student from Class 3,

Grade 2. I am very friendly and easy-going. I like to help others. All my

friends and classmates like me very much. I like playing basketball and volley

ball. I often play with my classmates after school. I am good at singing, I won

the first prize in the singing match last year. Id like to be a friend of you,

how about you?

小学英语自我介绍的作文4

Hello,everyone. Now please allow me to do an introduction. My name is Li

Lei. I’m 14 year old. My birthday is on October 11th. My favourite book is

twilight. I really love to read the books about vampires. My hobby is singing.

Some people say I’m a good singer.My favourite singer is Justin Biber.I think he

is a great singer. I love to sing his songs. Besides singing, I love shopping

very much. If I have time, I will go shopping with my friends.I’m really good at

English, if you have any questions, you can ask me, I will do my best to help

you. We can be the best friends forever. Thank you.

Hello,everyone! My Winter vacation`s life was so interesting.Do you want to know what I did during the Winter vacation? Well, at the first week, I did my homework,surfed the Internet,played computer games and watched TV. At the second week, I helped my parents with housewrk, so I did the dishes, washed lots of my parents` clothes and helped them take out the trash. At the third week, I chatted with my girl friend on mobile phone and we both had a good time.I had a happy Winter vacation`s life ! So how about you? What did you do during the Winter vacation?

秋风飒爽，带着丝丝凉意来到了人间。它越过小溪，穿过丛林，翻过高山，最后，停留在了那如画的田野上。 The autumn wind is cool, and it comes to the world with a bit of coolness.It crossed the stream, passed through the jungle, turned over the mountains, and finally stayed on the painting field.

远远望去，一块块稻田井然有序地排列着，到处一片金黄，令人心中充满了醉意。习习的秋风拂过，一株株轻轻地摇曳着身姿，犹如在金色的大海中，泛起了浪花。那一朵朵浪花拥挤着、嬉闹着，发出“沙沙”的响声，时而缓，时而急，时而轻，时而响，仿佛在演奏一曲成熟的赞歌。

走近稻田，一阵阵谷香便扑鼻而来。循着谷香，我不由地仔细看稻穗那硕大的穗头。颗颗穗粒，错落排列，多像小姑娘扎的麻花辫啊!它们有的已成熟，鼓得圆圆的;有的破了个小口子，探着脑袋，惊奇地瞧着这花花世界;有的似乎还未睡醒，把“被子”裹得紧紧的……还有那半绿半黄的稻叶举着宝剑，尽心地守护着它的孩子们。

田埂上到处开满了野花，它们穿着各色的迷你短裙，仰着脸，冲着秋姑娘直笑哩!绿油油的叶子，像两只嫩嫩的小手随风挥舞着。

稻田旁边是一片玉米地。高高的玉米杆昂着头，挺着胸，一副高高在上的样子。上面挂满了又大又长的玉米棒，拉开包裹它们的绿叶，一个个身穿嫩黄小背心的“胖娃娃”露了出来。它们紧紧靠在一起，透过叶缝向外张望。

不远处的菜地里，也很热闹。鲜嫩欲滴的大白菜，身披紫袍的茄子，火艳艳的朝天椒……它们焦急而有耐心地等待着农民伯伯把它们带回家。

看着这芳香四溢硕果满园的田野，我相信，明天的生活一定会更加美好。

There are four people in my family， my father， my mother， my sister and me. My father likes reading. My mother likes cooking. They both work in Leliu. They always go to work by car. They work hard.

My sister and I are pupils. I study in the primary school affiliated with Shunde No.1 Middle School. My hobby is collecting coins. My sister studies in Xishan Primary School. She likes watching TV. We love our family very much.

春，总是焕发着神采，生机勃勃。我的校园，春景迷人。那景色留住了每一位同学的脚步，每一处都散发出新生的活力。

走下楼梯，第一眼瞥见的就是那粉红色的樱花。樱花树伸展着每一根树杈，让枝头每一朵花都得到阳光的爱抚。那樱花，远看，捧着淡粉色的脸蛋，把全部的生命力都表现给我们看。走近一看，那花瓣白里透红，红里渗粉，淡黄色的花蕊弯曲着向外伸出，还略带一丝绵绵春雨的露珠，闪耀着，在阳光下泛动光彩。花蕾旁边还有期待着阳光与朝露的花苞，小小的，如同小鸡的嘴巴，竖立起来。

樱花树旁的那棵蜡梅，早在寒冬里送来了最美的姿态与芬芳。那原本光秃的枝桠上闪烁着一个个动人的光点，那便是春的叶儿。那叶儿还伸展不开来，娇嫩娇嫩，一层一层包在一起，包成了一个小尖角。满树都是这样可爱，这样闪烁着活力的卷起来的叶子，给光秃的树杈增添了一抹新绿。

沿着蜡梅树旁的小道走，两边是修剪成半圆形的一丛丛灌木，走到尽头就不一样了。那是一丛美丽的山茶花。朵朵花都害羞地遮起了半边脸，半开半掩，柔软的花瓣自然地伸平整，在一片片绿叶的掩映下都光彩照人。花是火红火红的，外面的几圈瓣儿绽开了，平和、优雅，清新而不柔媚。花的旁边也同样有苞，淡淡的红，迫切一展芳华。

校园春景处处美，有红、有绿、有白，让人一见难忘。

第一次做家务

he summer vacation began. I decided to work to make money for the next

term. But I didnt know what work I could do.

At that time, my mother was writing a book. I decided to type for her for

pay. She agreed and paid me 5 yuan for 1000 words.

I began to work. I typed so slowly that I could type only several hundred

words a day. It was a hard job for me. I kept typing all day long.

I finished the work two weeks later. I came to know how hard it was to make

money.

The first thing I did was I made a plan for my study. I assigned my

homework equally according to the holidays so that I can finish all of them in

time. And during my winter vacation, we welcome the most important festival in

China—Spring Festival, it’s also called Chinese New Year by lots of

foreigners.

At that night, our family came together and had a big meal. Of course we

had dumplings that night, because that is our Chinese traditional. We then watch

the CCTV spring festival evening party together and watch the beautiful

fireworks. That’s the happiest time in this world! The winter vacation I had

dreamed all year around was finally coming. And I really enjoyed a lot from

it.

The first thing I did was I made a plan for my study. I assigned my

homework equally according to the holidays so that I can finish all of them in

time. I also arranged myself the books and words I need to read and recite.

Secondly, I took some extracurricular activities and read some English original

reading. My favorite book is , written by Sherlock Holmes. Among all the

classical movies, the Sound of Music was the most exciting one. During my

holidays I also made some assistance for my physical class teacher, surely I met

lots of difficulties in this stage and from which I knew what perseverance

really was. Lastly, I went to the temple fair and was lucky to taste several

Chinese traditional dishes; “Jiaohua chicken” is one of them. It is said it

originated from Hangzhou centuries ago, made by a famous beggar Hong Qi Gong,

the senior leader of Beggar Gang.Steamed with fresh lotus leaf wrapped up,it is

famous for its special aroma and taste. Now that the holiday is ending and a new

semester is coming, I need to fresh up and get started to embrace the upcoming

challenges.

Dear Sir,

I saw your advertisement for

Imagine my surprise when all I got in return was a box of matches! I could understand a mistake. I might even pardon a joke. But in this case, your advertisement is a deliberate lie since a friend of mine who also sent the coupon got the same result.

I think its a shame to promise an economical lighter when in fact you are not selling a lighter a1 all. Instead of saying it works quickly, you should admit that you are offering matches. And what about

I regard your advertisement as a serious deception and demand that you send me my money back immediately. Otherwise I will take active steps to make sure the Consumers Association hear about it.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Li

星期五晚上，爸爸带我去洋安看了一场戏剧。

这场戏剧和我在电视上看到的有很大不同，这里看到的都是那么的真真切切，舞台是用木板、钢管搭起来的，座椅也是一张张可以移动的木头长椅。我们刚到门口，就看到里面灯火辉煌。这里的人来来往往、三五成群，都是来看节目的。里面人山人海，大家目不转睛地盯着舞台，期待着他们的精彩表演。我和爸爸在人群中钻来挤去，终于找到了一个位子，坐了下来。

看了一会儿，我就清楚它在讲一件什么事了。一个名叫王怀女的小姐被关在了敌人的囚牢里，十年后，终于想办法逃了出来，敌人的首领知道了，非常生气，于是找到自己的军师，想出了一个恶毒的办法：给大宋的首领写一封信，告诉他们王怀女是自己派来的内应，目的是扰乱大宋，大宋的首领就会将王怀女给杀了。

这个办法不仅不用敌人亲自动手就可以让王怀女“消失”，真是个好主意。果然，大宋首领上了当，将王怀女的砍头之日定在了第二天。后来首领发现告密信上的笔迹不同，于是把王怀女放了，并且让她带领队伍去打仗。第二天在战场上，王怀女打败敌军，但敌人却用她的母亲威胁她。她母亲为了不成为累赘，告诉王怀女要精忠报国，然后就自尽了。王怀女心如刀割，将满腔悲痛化为力量，把所有敌人都杀死了。就这样，戏剧就结束了。

这场戏剧令我们大家受到了很大的启示：忠于祖国，热爱祖国。古往今来历史上有许许多多的爱国人士，他们忠肝义胆为保卫国家牺牲自己的性命在所不惜，比如屈原、岳飞、戚继光、林则徐、狼牙山五壮士等。他们的事迹感动着和鼓舞了我们一代又一代人!因此，我们少年儿童应发奋学习努力报效国家。

我是一个帅气、阳光的男孩。我叫颜韵崎。

我的头发黑黑的，有一双明亮的眼睛，我有一对大大的耳朵，好像一对元宝，我有一张小嘴巴，随妈妈了!哈哈!我的脸蛋很柔软，妈妈老喜欢了，我原来的同桌也喜欢!

在学校，我同桌史静怡老喜欢我脸蛋了，动不动就掐我脸蛋，为了回报她，我也掐她的脸蛋。哈哈!公平了!可是我掐完她，她还对我卖萌，这就受不了了。

我还有两条大长腿，跑起来老快了，速度在班里就是前几名。我的手很有力量，因为练跆拳道练的，有时候别人拧瓶盖都找我。嘻嘻!

有一次在学校进行六十米计时跑步，我是十秒多，算是比较快的吧。我的好朋友，才跑了十一秒!我的力气很大，有时，妈妈拿东西，很沉的，但是我还是拿到了五楼!

我灵敏性很好。有一次，我和赵明凯正走在操场上，忽然，我觉得有人向我们冲来，我给赵明凯一个眼神，等那人快跑到时，我们突然向两边散去，那人从中间跑过去了。我定神一看，是满奕。哈哈!

这就是我，怎么样?

春季到了，那绿色的小草悄悄地从土地里露出了绿色的小脸，树木渐渐地茂盛了，而那迎春花现在是最漂亮的时候，黄色的小花开的那么大，好像显得春季生机勃勃，这季节也是农民播种的好时节，春季出去走一走很不错。

这不，我和母亲换上轻便的春装来到了公园，今天天气很好，天上没有风，公园到处是游春的人类，由于现在是春节期间，公园的大门口可以看见几条威武的龙，好像公园穿上了漂亮的新衣服，更显得气派，再往里走，我看见一排排的桃树和柳树，树枝上长出了嫩绿的小芽，那桃树上长满了粉色的小花骨朵，它们好像想：赶快长出来，长出一朵朵漂亮的小花，让阳光给我们温暖，我走着走着，看见了小孩子最爱玩的海盗船，这时我想起了我小时候玩海盗船时的情景，这时我笑了起来，由于那时候我才五岁，我刚上去开始摇了，我就哇哇大哭只能让停了。

我和母亲来到了动物园，只见动物们正在晒太阳呢，只见熊趴在地上，眼睛一动不动，都懒的站起来看游客一眼，还有老虎，也是一副懒洋洋的样子，它用舌头舔着爪子，近入了梦乡，还有娃娃鱼，它进在水中，一动不动，还有梅花鹿，它们一个偎依着一个，闭着眼睛，还有活拨可爱的猴子，有些小猴子跳越着，有些老猴子给小猴子抓虱子，我恋恋不舍的走出了公园春季不仅给万物带来了生机，而且也是新的一年的开始。

古人说的好：“一年之际在于春”我想在新的一年里学习进步。

The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, usually

in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. As early as the Western Han

Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25), it had become a festival with great significance.

This days important activity is watching lanterns. Throughout the Han

Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), Buddhism flourished in China. One emperor heard that

Buddhist monks would watch sarira, or remains from the cremation of Buddhas

body, and light lanterns to worship Buddha on the 15th day of the 1st lunar

month, so he ordered to light lanterns in the imperial palace and temples to

show respect to Buddha on this day. Later, the Buddhist rite developed into a

grand festival among common people and its influence expanded from the Central

Plains to the whole of China.

Till today, the lantern festival is still held each year around the

country. Lanterns of various shapes and sizes are hung in the streets,

attracting countless visitors. Children will hold self-made or bought lanterns

to stroll with on the streets, extremely excited. "Guessing lantern riddles"is

an essential part of the Festival.

Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the

lanterns. If visitors have solutions to the riddles, they can pull the paper out

and go to the lantern owners to check their answer. If they are right, they will

get a little gift. The activity emerged during peoples enjoyment of lanterns in

the Song Dynasty (960-1279). As riddle guessing is interesting and full of

wisdom, it has become popular among all social strata.

People will eat yuanxiao, or rice dumplings, on this day, so it is also

called the "Yuanxiao Festival."Yuanxiao also has another name, tangyuan. It is

small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour with rose petals, sesame, bean

paste, jujube paste, walnut meat, dried fruit, sugar and edible oil as filling.

Tangyuan can be boiled, fried or steamed. It tastes sweet and delicious. What’s

more, tangyuan in Chinese has a similar pronunciation with "tuanyuan”, meaning

reunion. So people eat them to denote union, harmony and happiness for the

family.

In the daytime of the Festival, performances such as a dragon lantern

dance, a lion dance, a land boat dance, a yangge dance, walking on stilts and

beating drums while dancing will be staged. On the night, except for magnificent

lanterns, fireworks form a beautiful scene. Most families spare some fireworks

from the Spring Festival and let them off in the Lantern Festival. Some local

governments will even organize a fireworks party. On the night when the first

full moon enters the New Year, people become really intoxicated by the imposing

fireworks and bright moon in the sky.